Terrazzo, Palladiana, Mosaic
Terrazzo belongs to a tradition of Venetian artistic excellence.
Starting with Opus signinum from Roman times, the Terrazzo technique has been handed down to us via the Venetian Renaissance, and is still laid directly on site by highly specialized personnel.
Today, with the partial introduction of concrete and the use of electric industrial grinders, production has become much quicker and a good Terrazzo can now be laid much thinner.
The Laboratorio creates reworkings of ancient patterns as well as modern custom-designed interpretations, rigorously following the classical techniques handed down by generations of skilled craftsmen, using carefully selected materials.
In general, Terrazzo is made with any type of stone and marble (even rare or valuable ones), sometimes with the addition of glass, metal, hard stones such as lapis-lazuli and jasper, or mother-of-pearl. Where such inserts are sparse and of a different colour from the rest of the mixture, they are known as “moschettature” (or chips).
Above a certain size (about 4/5 cm) these inserts are called “scaglie” (or flecking). It is not uncommon for older Terrazzo floorings to contain flakes of ancient (sometimes even Roman) flooring, often far too valuable simply to discard.
So-called cocciopesto is still produced today, where the sowing mixture is made up, as it has always been, mainly of fragments of crushed brick. The mixture is obtained by grinding old terracotta, preferably roof tiles but also hollow tiles and recycled bricks. Newly produced materials are never used, as they cannot ensure cohesion of the floor.
How it is made
Palladiana
Palladiana flooring is a re-interpretation of the typical Ancient Roman Opus incertum construction technique. It became widespread during the 16th century thanks to the architect Andrea Palladio. Palladiana flooring uses irregular-shaped stone slabs, generally no wider than 15/20 cm and 2/3 cm thick, often residual products of other workings, which made this technique particularly inexpensive.
Even today, Palladiana flooring is made directly on site, with the flecking being made by hand from marble slabs of various types and colours with a small hammer.
These flakes are then set in a cement mortar bed, laid on top of a pre-existing sand and cement floor screed measuring about 4/5 cm thick, so that the surface of the flake is very visible, and usually rough-cut with saw wire.
The joints are then sealed with a grout, which can be white or coloured cement with terracotta and/or pigments, depending on the design.
After rolling a weighted roller across the surface, the floor hardens, and is then sanded and polished, followed by a final wax treatment that brings out the patterns and colours of the materials used.
Given the great variety of marbles available, there are an infinite number of colour options. The size and shape of the flakes, which can be either squarer, or more rounded, plays a decisive role in the end result.
As is also the case for Terrazzo, expert floor layers can also insert guide lines, and draw backgrounds, geometric and ornamental motifs into Palladiana flooring.
Washed terrazzo
This special version of Venetian Terrazzo is mainly used for exterior surfaces, as it is non-slip, safe and aesthetically- pleasing, as well as being easy to clean and maintain.
The initial process for making washed terrazzo is similar to that of terrazzo, but using a greater number of expansion joints.
Within 24 hours of laying the mixture, the floor is washed and/or “sponged” to remove part of the coating bond.
After about a month, another wash is performed with specific products to remove the last residues and to bring out the colour of the aggregates, depending on the quality of the material used for seeding.
Precast Terrazzo, Palladiana and Washed Terrazzo
This special version of Venetian Terrazzo is mainly used for exterior surfaces, as it is non-slip, safe and aesthetically- pleasing, as well as being easy to clean and maintain.
The initial process for making washed terrazzo is similar to that of terrazzo, but using a greater number of expansion joints.
Within 24 hours of laying the mixture, the floor is washed and/or “sponged” to remove part of the coating bond.
After about a month, another wash is performed with specific products to remove the last residues and to bring out the colour of the aggregates, depending on the quality of the material used for seeding.
Mosaic
Mosaic is a special form of decoration which creates patterns using tiles made out of natural stone, terracotta or cast glass.
Laboratorio Morseletto implements various traditional mosaic working methods, using the most appropriate technique for the job at hand: from surfaces entirely covered in mosaics to inserts in Terrazzo, Palladiana or marble flooring.